O- Didn't really know what to expect when I picked this up. I like New Holland's brews and this was aged in bourbon barrels, so I couldn't pass it up. Priced about right for a barrel aged beer at 12%. Pleasantly surprised by this beer. Probably worth trying the Non-BBA version of this beer to see where it came from.

I'm a fan of Pilgrim's Dole to begin with and the bourbon barrel is an outstanding compliment. One of my top three wheatwines. I really hope that New Holland does the barrel treatment again this year and that Georgia actually sees it.

2.5 A: Lightly hazed orange amber color. Less than half a finger of frothy off-white head than fell quickly and left no lacing. Lots of crap floating around.

3.5 S: Big hit of booze from the start. Caramel with apple and peach fruitiness. Bourbon isn't really strong, but there's enough for it to be a good complement to the brew. Leathery with oak.

3.5 T: Taste may even be boozier than the nose. Doesn't matter too much since it's still pretty tasty. This time toffee shows up with the caramel. Light fruits again. Leathery bourbon with peat and vanilla notes.

3.5 M: Heavy body. Good moderate carbonation. Reasonably creamy, but a bit too syruppy at the same time.

Appearance: brown color that hints at garnet with a nice brightness when held to the light. a slight, centimeter, tannish head that fades pretty quickly but leaves a ring around the glass and a slight lacing on the sides. opaque due to the darkness but still lets quite a bit of light through. 4/5

Taste: opens up with some bourbon along with dark fruits, ranging only from figs to raisins. notes of vanilla and oak. ends with a decent strength booziness. 3.5/5

Mouthfeel: fairly light and wheat-like at first but bourbon and booziness make things end up a little stickier. a slight warmth to it. 3.75/5

Overall: a decent offering from New Holland, certainly not their best. Not sure exactly like pilgrams dole is like but this version is clearly mostly the product of the barrel aging, but thats not a bad thing for this beer. I think the raisin aspects are just a bit too strong for me on this one.

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a snifter. Pours a cloudy light red with a nice off white head. Smells of Bourbon, wheat, and candy, very sweet smell. Tastes of sweet syrupy smoked bourbon barrel with slight wheat aftertaste. Beer is very sticky, full body good carbonation for style. Overall, a very good beer.

Appearance: dark orange bodied beer with a small cap of white head. A little swirl bring the head back to life. Spotty lacing.

Smell: A nice mellow bourbon and oak note. Lots of vanilla. Has a bit of fruitiness and that distinct wheat malt smell.

Taste: Similiar to the nose. Really nice barrel notes. They are mellow and well integrated with this wheatwine. Vanilla and honey. Oak and bourbon. Brown sugar and dark fruits. You can still get the wheat malts and a touch of fruitiness and subtle earthy hop. Finishes with a little bit of sweetness.

Mouthfeel: full bodied beer with low almost moderate carbonation level. Not very boozy for a 12% beer. It got a little bit of a warming as you swallow, thats it. Its a pretty darn smooth drink.

Overall: I honestly disliked Pilgrims Dole, but the bourbon barrel makes it a much better beer! New Holland really exceeded my expectations with this brew. So balanced and mellow for a big beer. I normally dislike wheatwines, but I gladly make an exception for this beer.